The Falkland's Dispute : A History of the Falkland Islands Until 1833

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The Falkland Islands was once a small part of the greater struggle in the eighteenth century which became a lasting tension between the South and the North in the twentieth century. The islands seem to be the only section of land in the South of which the rights to sovereignty have never been satisfactorally solved. Here in lies the key; satisfaction. The British in the past have never been satisfied with the treaties and agreements which were made concerning the sovereignty over the islands. England is marked by its oceanic endeavours and is known in modern history as the maritime power of Europe through demonstration of its exploits. So by the eighteenth century, Britian was the only country to question Spain's right to the islands. The friction between Spain and Britain in fact did have an ending but not a resolution when the United Provinces, later known as Argentina, gained its independence from Spain after a nine year struggle which ended in 1820. Argentina also inherited the problems of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. It was not long before Argentina faced the same anxiety that Spain had been fighting for almost three and a half centuries, British occupancy. The young and struggling Argentine government made several attempts in the following years to protest Britain's occupation claiming it unlawful, but to no avail. The economically strained Argentina was in no position to go to war with Great Britain and in the end was forced to live with British occupation of the Falkland Islands in the following years. The question of sovereignty was never resolved between England and Spain nor during those years of Argentina's occupation, and to this day Argentina claims rights to the islands. The present war on the Falkland Islands is representative of this century's old dispute which has plagued the relations of these three countries and continues to be a constant friction between Argentina and England. It had become a struggle of principle to fight for what was thought to be, rather than for the actual knowledge of what was. Each country thought themselves in the right and neither was willing to give way to the other. It is a dispute which is new for many people but which has a long history for the two countries.